Shedding mechanism for looms



March 22, 1932. F, vv. MERRxcK SHEDDING MECHANISM FOR LOOMS Filed Feb.24, 1950 2 Sheets-Shaw March 22, 1932. F, W MERRlCK 1,850,328

SHEDDING MECHANISM FOR LOMS Filed Feb. 24, 1930 2 sheets-sheet `2ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 22, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENTy OFFICE FRANK W.MERRICK, OIE'r DOR-CHESTER, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNDB T0 WONDER WEAVE,INC., OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF MASSACHUSETTSSHEDDING'MECHANISM FOR LOOMS,

Application led February 24, 1930. `rSerial No. 430,717.'

In the patent to Villiam S. Wells, No. 1,759,530 a Warp-sheddingmechanism is disclosed which, essentially stated, combines with a pairof actuators reciprocating in opposite directions together toward andtogether from an intermediate plane and eachv account of the fact thatthe actuator moved in a straight line whereas the coupling meansfollowed the arcuate path of the lever, and this made necessary certaincomplications of structure and led to unreliability in action of themechanism, especially when operated at high speed. The object of thisinvention is to overcome these faults, and this I accomplish byconstructing the actuators as levers and providing a common fulcrum forthem and the lever of each warp-shifting system.

In thedrawings, y

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view through a mechanism embodyingthe invention, the actuators being together or in position for transfer;

Fig. 2 is a similar view, the actuators being apart to form the shed;

Fig. 3 isa section on line 3-3, Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a section on line 4-4, Fig. 1; and

Fig. 5 is a view somewhat similar to Fig. 1 but showing the means formoving the actuators and pattern cylinder, so much of such means asactuates the pattern cylinder appearing in modied form.

Each of the mentioned csystems here includes a harness shaft 1 slidingvertically in guides 2 and having of course heddles or other provision(not shown) for receiving and imparting shed-forming movements to warps;a lever 3 fulcrumed on a shaft 4; and means, as links 5, to connect theshaft 1 with the lever. Each lever here comprises two side bars 3a (Fig.4) having spacers 3?) be# tween them so that the whole forms a unitarypart, and the corresponding link extends between and is pivoted to thesebars; but these' details are immaterial.

rlhe mentioned actuator levers, 6, are herein shown as each comprisingspaced legs 6a joined by a cross-bar 6b, or here U-shaped, the free endsof their legs being fulcrumed on the shaft 4, the pair of one memberbeftween those of the other and the group of levers 3 being flanked ateach side by the correspondinglegs of the actuators. The actuatorsreceive motion up and down, so thaty L they move together toward andtogether from each other, through links 7 from a double crank 8 on ashaft 9 Whose crank 9a is connected with the rotating element 10y by apitman 11.

'Each mentioned coupling means here inthese notches to a lever 3 of oneof said sys tems, a lever 13y fulcrumed at 14, a link 15 pivotallyconnecting this lever and the cou-- pling, and a spring 16 connectingthe lever with somel fixed point -17 18 is ak'cylinder having a peg orpegs or equivalentv 18a to cause shifting of each lever 13 against thetension of spring 16-when such cylinder, serving as the pattern means,is rotated. This rotation may be'efi'ected step by step (Fig. 5) from acrank 19 on shaft 9 acting through pitman 20 to oscillate a crank 21 onthe shaft 18?) on which the cylinder rotates. said crank 21 having aspring pressed pick pawl 22 engaged with a ratchet 180 on the cylinder,which is kept from re-rotation by a holding pawl 23 engaging saidratchet. Or the shaft 10c of element 10 may carry the actuator 24 of avGeneva stop motion (Fig. 1) whose notched disk 25 is atiixed to thecylin-v der. Any other means for rotating the cy-l-v inderintermittently and holding it fixed between movements may be utilized.

I here note that in Fig. 5, since either actuator lever 6 and the pawl22 are both backand-forth moving parts of the same back-andforth movingtrain, the transfer or shifting of a coupling cannot be advanced orretarded,

in other Words timed, with respect to the time in a cycle of said trainwhen it is in position for the transfer to occur, and this factor limitsthe speed at which the shedding-mechanism may be driven.` But ink Fig.1, where the part 10 (continually rotating in eitherV case in onedirection). and is therefore independent of said train, itis possible toobtain any necessarytiming of the advances of the pattern means 18 withrespect to thep0si tioning of the actuator levers 6 for transfer by somesuch adjustment as ofthe actuator 24: of the Geneva stop motion aroundshaft 10er it may be of the pattern means 18 around shaft `186.

With the actuator levers reciprocating the coupler 12 V'of any onesystem will always be engaged? with one or the other actuator lever.yThe transfer from one to the other actuator lever occurs whentheactuator levers are inthe proximatin'g portions of theiiranges ofmovement, or here in actual contact with vthe levers 3 as when a peg 18acauses displacement to the rightr or permits it to the left.Thus,`according to the pattern deter'- mined bythe arrangement of pegson the rotated cylinder 18, any one shaft 1 may in a fullv cycle of theactuator levers move fromk the one `to the other open-shed position orlfrom one open-shed positionto the mid-position and back, in the formercase being transferred" from one'a-ctuator tothe other and in the latterremaining coupled with the same c actuator, all as in the case of theIlVellsshedfy n uncoupling.

ding mechanism referred to.

- But, sinceth'eV actuator levers are here ful--y on the same axis, 4,as the levers of the warp shifting ysystems thepaths of movement fof thecouplers are parallel Withthe paths; of the actuators, wherefore saidaxis itselfserves to' confine the actuators to definite paths ofmovement and noexpedient for producing a differential movement of eachcoupling means withf respectk to its lever so as to insure theV couplingremaining engaged with the actuator lever is necessary andthe-apparatustherefore operateswith greater efiiciency and may be drivenat higher speed withoutV accidental My inventlonv is not necessarilylimited to the presence of two actuator leversfmovable together towardand together fromzan intermediate pl'ane, and I claim accordingly.

Having thusifully described my invention what I claim, is:

1. In a warp-shedding mechanism, the combination, with a warp-shiftingsysteminclud-y ing a lever, of a bacl i-and-forth-moving ac:- tuatorlever, a common fulcrumfor the levers, and coupling means movable at.will't'o intercouple oruncouple said levers. i

2. vIn a warp-shedding mechanism, the combination, withawarp-shiftingsystem including a lever, of a pair of actuator leversmoving toward and from an intermediate plane,V a common fulcrum for theseveral levers, and coupling means movable at will to intercouple thefirst lever and either Vactuator lever and uncouple the first leverand-,the other actuator Ylever.

3. In a warp-sheddingr mechanism, the combination, with aWarp-shiftingsystem includ-V ing a lever, of a' .pair of' actuatorlevers having the rst lever between them, a common fulcrum for theseveral levers, said actuator levers belng movable together toward andtogetherfromand adapted remote from the fulcrum to contact with thefirst lever, and means movable to intercouple the first lever and eitheractuator lever and uncouple the first lever andthe otherfactuator leverduring such contact. v Y e 4. In a warpshedding mechanism, the com'-bination of aKV fulcrum, warp-shifting systems each includinga lever,said levers being' ar ranged" on said fulcrum, a back-and-forth f movingactuator lever having two spaced lever legs arranged on said fulcrum anda crossbar'connecting said legs, thefirst levers being arranged betweenthe legs of the actuatory lever, and coupling means movable on therespective first levers into and out of engagement with said cross-bar.

' '5.' Ina Warp-sheddingmechanism, the com- Y bination of afulcrum,warp-shifting systems each including a lever,'said leversbeing arrangedon Vsaid fulcrum, back-and-forth moving actuatorV -leverseach having twospaced Vlever legs arrangedvon said fulcrum and a

